The Last Chapter
by secretstar
Summary: Some people aren't blessed to have the "happily ever after" ending. He just never thought that he would turn out to be one of those unlucky people.


**Author**: secretstar  
  
**Rating**: PG-13ish  
  
**Notes**: Isn't it strange when inspiration hits you at the most unlikely times? I have no idea where this came from. This is a Dean story -- my first. I have ventured off into an idea that's not Rory and Jess related. Kind of. Anyway, this is my end of sorts. A companion to 10/14/03's episode: Chicken or Beef.   
  
This is completed. A one-parter. Please leave me a review if you have the time, or energy. Or, just send an email to: hardertobreathe@starmail.com -- Thanks! I appreciate it.   
  
**Dedication**: To the girl with too many nicknames to mention ... Elise [aka: Wakko, MonsterElise, E to the C, etc ...] Thanks for beta-ing me & for listening to my ideas. You're an absolutely amazing loon [hee!] and I thankya muchly. *hugs*   
  
**Disclaimer**: I don't own, you don't sue. My, we have a good agreement going, don't you think?  


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**The Last Chapter**  


White. Everything was white. White roses, white tuxedos, white lawn chairs. It was all too bright, and all too white. White, the universal symbolism of purity, cleanliness, and new beginnings.   
  
Dean Forrester could hardly stand the color.   
  
With a frown, he finishes tying his (what else?) white tie and examines his appearance in the mirror. He reaches up and straightens the collar of his Oxford shirt, a shirt he hasn't worn since Rory's dance. He had no reason to wear it outside of a formal occasion anyway. It wasn't as if Doose's had a strict and formal dress code. As long as he was in a green apron and fully clothed, Taylor was satisfied.  
  
Sighing, he turns away from the mirror and starts his walk to the Gazebo, where the wedding was going to be held. A wedding that, in his opinion, would be a huge burden to pay for. If he had it his way, he would have had their special day downtown in front of a judge. A couple of "I do's" and certificates, and they would be done.   
  
Married.   
  
There was no need to go through the hassle of expensive flowers, altered wedding dresses, or cakes that were much too sweet. In his opinion, they didn't need all of those unnecessary accessories. Wasn't it enough that he was going to commit himself to a loveless marriage? And besides, what happened to keeping it simple, like they had agreed?   
  
Unfortunately for him, somewhere along the way, Lindsay had been "corrupted" by the Stars Hollow citizens. _Get this_, they had said. _Ooh, order that_, they had pleaded. Tugging and pulling her into the world that she always said she never wanted to live in. This was one of the reasons why he had "fallen" for her in the first place. Her Un-Rory Gilmore like quality that he so needed.   
  
But now she was turning into one of them. One of those small town girls that ended up marrying young, had a couple of children, and spent the rest of her life baking chocolate chips cookies and working for the local school.   
  
Lindsay was supposed to be different.   
  
Lindsay was supposed to be his escape from it all.   
  
Now she would turn out to be a nagging reminder of a town he had grown to despise.   
  
He hated himself for doing this to her. Pledging his undying love for a girl that he would never love. A girl that he had used to replace the girl that would never love him again. Or should he say a girl that had never loved him in the first place.   
  
Frustrated all over again, he began damning Rory Gilmore for everything she was. Her bookish personality, her "jumpy" personality, and her need to run from everything that frightened her. He hated her for making him feel so helpless and needy.   
  
He didn't need her.   
  
He could do so much better than Stars Hollow's beloved Princess Rory Gilmore, with her fascinations with "bad" guys that would always end up leaving her. She had corrupted and blinded him.   
  
With a deep sigh, he shakes his head slowly, very much annoyed with himself.   
  
He should have let her go off with her first "bad" boy. The cocky son-of-a-bitch that had more money than Dean could have ever dreamed of. The sandy-blond haired boy who had picked a fight with him at the first dance he had ever attended with Rory. Tristan DuGrey, otherwise known as _Romeo_.   
  
But Rory's Romeo had left due to his delinquent habits. And Rory, even though she would never admit it, was completely heartbroken. He had figured this out during the two long weeks that they had been separated (she had locked herself inside her bedroom, according to Miss Patty).   
  
But like a fool that he was, he took her back in, and sheltered her from the hurt. And with his trademark butterfly kisses on her cheeks, he prayed to God that this was the only fork in their road.   
  
But of course it wasn't, life had to make it harder. Fate just had to stick in another obstacle in their relationship. He had come to a profound conclusion that Fate must have hated the name Dean Forrester for some reason.   
  
So Fate had called in the bad-boy in waiting from the Big Apple, and shipped him down to Stars Hollow of all places. How very convenient.   
  
Another bad boy for Rory to play with.   
  
He had tried to warn Rory, but she blatantly refused to listen to him. Apparently, she was growing sick of his nagging, and his need to know where she was at all times (things that he had unconsciously been doing). Could he help it though? Was he just suppose to stand back and watch as Jess stole Rory away from him?   
  
But in the end, no matter how much of a fight he put up, Jess had won, and Rory was finally free of him. Free to gallivant with her bad-boy. Fine. If Rory Gilmore wanted to be corrupted, and end up heartbroken, then so be it. He was done with her.   
  
So to escape it all, he threw caution to the wind, and drove his tongue down the first girl he had seen at Michael McClellan's keg party. Later on, he would find out that her name was Lindsay.   
  
The rest was predictable enough. They had their dates, make out sessions, and nonsensical conversations that were -- more often times than not -- about nothing in particular. He'd felt an odd need to fill the air with some substance so that the quietness would not seep in and remind him of the everything else.   
  
And then about 4 months into their relationship, he had felt an urge to say something committal to reassure her, and himself, that his intentions were good and pure. But was a proposal really necessary?   
  
He hadn't meant to do it. The words came out on their own.   
  
Funny how that works sometimes.  
  
But once they were out, they could not be taken back.  
  
So he decided that he had to live with his mistake. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. His parents liked her. Her parents liked him. And Clara had given him her "blessing".   
  
And the town didn't seem to mind.   
  
Besides, he didn't want to spend forever pining away for Rory Gilmore. That was just pathetic and foolish. And he certainly didn't want to be labeled as either of those things.   
  
So maybe this was how the life of Dean Forrester would finally end. Maybe this was how the last chapter would be written. Dean Michael Forrester, married at the age of eighteen to Lindsay Michelle Holland. He would be a mailman, and she would be a school teacher. They would have 2.5 kids and spend the rest of their lives in Stars Hollow.   
  
Sighing again, he looks up from the ground and catches a glimpse of his fiancee, the whiteness of her dress blinding him. Dean blinks and waits patiently as she walks down the rose-petaled aisle with her father by her side.   
  
Here she is, the woman that he had promised to love forever and always.   
  
She looks up from her veil and smiles at him, her face filled with warmth and love for him. It was such a shame that he would never look at her with such a love. Such a shame that they would never be completely happy with one another. Such a shame that his vows would be lies --- much like what their life would be like.   
  
He wonders briefly if she is having second thoughts.   
  
But his insecurity is put to rest when he looks at her small face, filled with promise.   
  
So incredibly pure that he felt like vile standing next to her.  
  
She reaches him and extends her hand. He takes it in his rough ones and leads her towards the priest. He notices that her eyes are rose-tinted and frowns. She must have been crying beforehand. Instead of feeling some emotion at this image however, Dean feels his heart harden.   
  
So this was it. This was how the life of Dean Forrester would end, married to a woman he could never love. This was how the writers of his life had chosen to end his story. This was how they would write the final chapter.   
  
Maybe those cynics and critics knew what they were talking about.   
  
He believed their pessimistic views now.   
  
Because they were right, not everything ended with "happily ever after".   
  
  


** -- End --**

  



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